Don't own Avatar.
Comparably short chapter, hope it eases your aching desire to hear the continuation of the story.
No Toph in this chapter, unfortunately... I love writing Toph, but couldn't fit her in to this one. And yeah, the new guy will be a bit more interesting in the future. Promise.
--
"Sokka, maybe we should've brought some back up along with us."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because there is no way we can land this big flying cow without getting killed right now."
Sokka looked down over the edge of Appa's saddle to see a fleet of ten water tribe ships on their tail. "You're worried about that? Honestly, how long have you lived with me?"
"And how many times have you been injured or captured or outmatched or –"
"Alright, alright, I get your point. Can you at least trust me this one time, though? I know those ships. Appa here can out maneuver those things easily. Right buddy?"
Appa let out a not-quite-ferocious growl and shifted hard to the left. Sokka and Suki held on for their lives to each-other and the saddle they sat in. Sokka quietly wished he had thought to bring back up.
--
"Uncle, did you send out that squadron to follow Appa?" Zuko flung his bag over his shoulder, pulled his hat down, and made to leave the room he was in. He felt a little silly wearing the hat of a Fire Nation farmer, along with his less than regal outfit of boots, tight black pants and short sleeved shirt.
Iroh stepped through the door behind his nephew. The Fire Lord himself was part of the group designed to insure the rescue team made it out to sea safely. "Of course, prince Zuko. And if they need to get involved, it will be made clear that it was your idea to have them followed."
Zuko stopped walking. Turning back to his uncle, he prepared to ask a question, but the Fire Lord interrupted and answered in anticipation. "Sokka would not be angry at me for doing so, but he would most certainly be angry at you. I plan on having a very nice comfy chair and some delicious fire flakes when that fight starts."
Before Zuko could relieve the pressure building up in his nerves, most likely by screaming his head off at his last sane relative, Leitha flew around the corner and landed on Iroh's shoulder. From up ahead they felt a strong breeze before the familiar sight of Jung appeared speeding around the corner, halfway up the wall on an air-scooter. "Get back here right now, and fix this!!" Katara's voice boomed off the long corridors.
"So, you guys ready to go?" Jung came to an abrupt stop inches away from slamming into Iroh's barrel-like chest.
"Umm, yeah. What's Katara–"
As Katara walked around the corner Zuko realized he didn't have to finish his question. Her hair resembled a ratcoon nest, and the once elegant red silk dress she wore was cut at the shoulders and halfway up the skirt. "I swear, Jung, you're worse than your father. We do NOT play with Zuko's swords in the palace! Why would you even need to be told at your age?"
"Well, at least you're not bleeding…" The airbender hurried to get to the other side of the Fire Lord's large frame for cover before finishing her sentence. "Umm, anymore."
"Master Katara, please. We must hurry. Just change into something else and let's get out to the docks." Katara turned on her heels and stormed back towards her room without another word. One does not argue with the Fire Lord about such trivial affairs as attire.
Jung almost whispered to Zuko in her most sheepish tone, "Sorry for using your swords without asking, uncle."
"I hate when you call me that."
"But you can't help but forgive when I do, uncle Zuko." Jung's brilliant smile was plastered to her face as she manipulated the fire prince. Being the only child born from the original group had its benefits. It was a bit like being the only child in a powerful, wealthy family that longed for somebody to spoil rotten. No, it was exactly like that.
"Just, don't let it happen again." Zuko broke, as always.
A thought flashed through the teen girl's mind. Hmm, maybe I can teach Katara that trick.
The three benders, from three generations, walked down the hall to wait outside of Katara's room. When she finally emerged she had changed into a slightly less formal outfit. A red silk halter top that stopped just above her navel, and a loosely flowing black skirt that fell down to her ankles. Zuko appeared to have lost control of the muscles in his jaw. Jung, thankfully, didn't seem to notice, thus sparing the prince the comments that were bound to spring forth if she had.
"So, where's the rest of our escort to the ship?" Katara looked around at the empty corridors.
"They will be meeting up with us at the entrance to the tunnels. We will be traveling underground from the palace to the docks along the eastern coast of the island here. For obvious reasons you can not be seen in my company, nor in the company of any Fire Nation soldiers. Any of the ships there will be moving on to the Earth Kingdom from there, and you're on your own getting to the North Pole." Iroh was merely reiterating the escape plan that Sokka had drawn up the night before. From their landfall in the Earth Kingdom they had a rather strict schedule to keep. Those towns that were more lenient toward the Northern Water Tribe had to be avoided at all cost, while those that appreciated the trade routes to the Fire Nation were key destinations, some of which even containing hotels that they could rest in. Large cities were always bad. Large cities meant a lot of people with a lot of varying opinions. Large cities have large ears and loose lips.
"Do I really have to wear this silly wig once we're out of the tunnel?" Jung complained about the less than elaborate disguise which was stored at the top of her bag. It consisted entirely of a wig of long, light brown hair. It would not cover her scarred right eye, but she also had a black cloth that she was instructed to use to cover both eyes if there might be any suspicion, and claim that she was blind and with her parents in order to prevent herself from being injured.
"It really is for your own good," Katara said, looking at the hat Zuko was wearing to try and hide his scarred face. "You two are just too recognizable from those scars. Not to mention your rather unique hairstyle."
Jung was about to try her pouty face to get Katara to bend to her will when Iroh reached up and pulled on a torch that looked just like any other torch in the hall way. This one, however, caused the wall to slide away, revealing a group of twenty Fire Nation soldiers in a dark, unlit tunnel that appeared to drop steeply into the volcanic island. "I do have one surprise for you all, though." Iroh said as a handful of the soldiers lit up the tunnel. In the light Jung noticed that one of the men was wearing very common Earth Nation garb; bare feet and everything. Actually, to call him a "man" was to be generous. He couldn't be more than 16, which would mean he was barely old enough to join the war effort. He was tall with vibrant green eyes. "This is Da Shan, of the Earth Kingdom. He has proven himself both loyal and knowledgeable as my nephew will attest to as well. He shall assist you in your journey north."
"It an honor to meet you, ladies." Da Shan bowed low before Katara and Jung. "As for you sir," he bowed once more, this time to Zuko, "it is a great honor to serve you again."
"I don't really know if we need an escort here." Katara turned toward Iroh. "Are you sure about this? I mean, it's not like we've never been to the Earth Kingdom, and the larger the group the slower the movement will be."
"Don't worry, Katara." The prince interrupted before Iroh could respond. "I know this man well. He won't slow us down, and he'll most certainly come in handy."
"How? We have three master benders here already, and I don't know many people that know the Earth Kingdom better than I do from our travels."
"Katara, you know the Earth Kingdom of twenty years ago," Zuko said.
The young man stepped forward. "Master Katara, daughter of Hakoda, Chief of the Southern Water Tribe." Jung knew that tone anywhere. It wasn't as though he were trying to insult Katara in any way, but it was most certainly not a heart-felt brown-nosing he was doing. "I have spent the majority of my life traveling the western shores of the Earth Kingdom with my family as a nomad. Though there are certainly ulterior motives for the assistance that I am offering you, I can assure you that the trip will prove much faster and smoother with my assistance."
The whole group, including Fire Lord Iroh, stopped to look at the young man. The gaze asked in unison, "Ulterior motives?" Before the question could be vocalized, though, he answered them. "I have had little in the way of traditional training in the art of earth bending, and though my skills are not terrible, I have heard stories of the abilities of Toph Bei Fong as though she were a legend. I would like nothing more than to free her from her imprisonment, and to possibly become her pupil."
Jung looked around at the small group, and thought about what he had said, or rather, how he said it. "You know, you can talk to us like humans rather than superior officers." She then turned to the ever stern face of the crown prince, and added, "At least, I think you can."
--
"Did you hear something?" Sokka asked, as they finished unloading Appa for the night. They had made it to the Southern Air Temple without incident. Now, however, loud clanging sounds were echoing up from the cliff sides.
"Yeah, I did. We should head down to the base to see what's going on. I don't think it would be safe to stick around up here without at least investigating." Suki pulled her fans out of the bag they were in and started climbing down the mountain face that Toph had long since fashioned into a rock staircase.
After the long trip down to the base of the mountain, the scene that stood before them had dwindled to the last remnants of a battle. The wooden crafts the Water Tribe soldiers had ridden in on were all set aflame, and the entire cove was surrounded by large metal Fire Nation battle ships. The few remaining Water Tribe soldiers were easily outnumbered by their Fire Nation equivalents, and the shore was littered with the bloody and charred carcasses of the fallen. Sokka and Suki merely watched the end of the battle in shock.
"What are you guys doing here?" Sokka stepped forward on the scene.
--
"What?! That guy?!" Aang was shocked by the figure he was watching in the mortal realm. "Seriously, Roku, they couldn't find somebody… I don't know, more caring? More free spirited? Less, what's the right word… chicken-pig headed?"
Roku chuckled at the tattooed monk. "I remember hearing something similar not too long ago."
"What do you mean?"
"You should have heard Avatar Yangchen when you first met Toph. I swear, she was insufferable for years. It wasn't for a good three years after the war that she finally entrusted her with the fate of the air nomads."
"I still don't like the guy."
"And you probably never will, but give it time. You might learn to accept it."
--
A little less than subtle. Maybe should have held off on that whole thing at the end.